On this course, as well as studying general psychology modules, you will specialise in understanding the structure of the human brain, and how it functions to enable perception, thought, emotion, language and behaviour. You will analyse what happens when the brain is damaged or impaired, as for example in head injury, stroke, Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease. You will study not only the effects of these conditions, but also how such patients can be helped through rehabilitation. During the course, you will become acquainted with advanced techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERPs) for observing brain activity and diagnosing problems.

Placement Year

This course is available as a 4-year ‘with Placement Year’ option. Please apply for Psychology with Neuropsychology (with Placement) BSc C84P.Find out more about 'with Placement Year' courses here.

The placement year provides you with a fantastic opportunity to broaden your horizons and develop valuable skills and contacts through working with a self-sourced organisation relevant to your degree subject. The Placement Year is undertaken at the end of the second year and students are away for the whole of the academic year. The minimum period in placement (at one or more locations) is seven calendar months; more usually you would spend 10-12 months with a placement provider. You would normally start sometime in the period June to September of your second year and finish between June and September the following year. Placements can be UK-based or overseas and you will work with staff to plan and finalise the placement arrangements.

You will be expected to find and arrange a suitable placement to complement your degree, and will be fully supported throughout by a dedicated member of staff at your academic School and the University’s Skills and Employability Services.

Why choose Bangor University for this course?

There are lots of reasons why Bangor Psychology is a great place to study and you find several on our Why Study with us? page.

Key Facts from UniStats

You will learn through a variety oflectures, seminars, tutorials, and practicals. In addition, you will complete essays and computer and paper-based assignments. Prospective students should note that participation in various research projects is a course requirement forthe undergraduate programme. The School makes extensive use of technology in order to enhance the learning experience including podcasts and the use of an Audience Response System. An increasing number of our modules can be followed through the medium of Welsh. Students can choose to have a Welsh-speaking Tutor and complete their project in Welsh.

There is a wide range of continuous assessment on offer across the modules including essays, weekly homework, multiple choice tests, presentations, blogs, quizzes etc. throughout each semester and many modules include end of semester examinations.

In your third year you will carry out a major research project in the area of neuropsychology. Depending on your chosen field, you might be involved in research in industry, hospitals, schools, nurseries, or other institutions with which we have strong research links. The project will be individually supervised by a staff member who is a specialist in the appropriate research field; you will thus have the opportunity to exercise your knowledge and skills alongside an expert. Our students regard the project as one of the most challenging, but also one of the most rewarding, elements of their course. This 18 month project experience is very rare in undergraduate programmes and ensures that our graduates have amongst the most highly developed research skills of any UK Psychology graduates.

Bangor University has a worldwide reputation in high-quality teaching and research in Psychology. Everyone’s just so helpful in every way they can, online and offline.

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What will you study on this course?

In years 1 and 2 you will take compulsory modules as for single honours Psychology. In addition, you will take Neuropsychology modules in your third year. Each year you study a total of 120 credits and the modules build over the years to provide both breadth and depth of understanding with a focus on Neuropsychology.

All graduates who achieve at least a 2:2 will be eligible for Graduate Based Chartered Membership (GBC) of the BPS.

Your Research

We put great emphasis on developing your research skills. Right from the start of your course you will begin to build up an understanding of how to undertake research and you will also act as a participant in the School's ongoing research programme. In this way, you'll gradually acquire the skills you need to design and conduct your own research project in Year 3. Your project will be related to neuropsychology in an area that fits with the research strengths of the staff in the School. Recent projects include studies of how the brain attends to stimuli and perceives objects, how the brain responds to pain, how the brain perceives social interactions and developing a detailed understanding of cerebral physiology. We have a wide range of specialist research laboratories including MRI, ERP, TMS, Eye tracking, etc.

This course focuses on Psychology with Neuropsychology but is still suitable for students who want to follow any of the main psychological professions (clinical psychology, educational psychology, counselling psychology, health psychology, etc). In addition, there are careers open to graduates and postgraduates from any discipline. These include, e.g. careers in management training, accountancy, teaching, nursing, social work, the police and the armed forces. Further, employers are usually looking for general or transferable skills, and a psychology degree arguably provides a unique combination of these as it is both a literate and numerate discipline.

The fact that we are regularly ranked in the Top 20 in league tables for graduate prospects shows how employable you will be as one of our graduates.Employability is a key theme of the Psychology programme you will follow in Bangor and we have embedded a large number of opportunities within our degree to give graduates as strong a CV as possible and equip them with a host of transferable skills that are relevant to both psychology and non-psychology related careers.

The simple fact that you will graduate from an internationally renowned, research intensive Psychology School adds additional value to your degree and improves your employability. This is well illustrated by our top 20% ranking for Graduate Prospects in theThe Guardian Good University Guide 2019.

Employability and the School of Psychology

As a graduate with a good degree in psychology from Bangor, a variety of careers will be open to you. There are careers for which a psychology degree is essential, and careers for which psychology provides a useful base. In addition, there are careers open to graduates and postgraduates from any discipline. These include, for example, careers in management training, accountancy, teaching, nursing, social work, the police and the armed forces. However, employers are usually looking for general or transferable skills, and a psychology degree arguably provides a unique combination of these.

Psychology Careers Extravaganza

As part of our efforts to ensure you have an excellent grasp of the career opportunities to you as a Psychology graduate we run an annual careers and employability event.

Video: Careers Event

Psychology students at Bangor University took part in a careers and employability conference where they had the opportunity to meet employers, network, see presentations and take part in a CV clinic.

Opportunities at Bangor

The University’s Skills and Employability Service provides a wide range of resources to help you achieve your graduate ambitions. Developing your personal skills and enhancing your employability while at university is becoming increasingly important in today’s job market.

The Bangor Employability Award enables students to build on their transferable skills through the recognition of activities they become involved in during their university life. Students can gain points towards the award through extra-curricular activities such as volunteering, attending workshops or actively participating in the Students’ Union’s clubs and societies.

The HEAR is a final graduation report that all undergraduates receive. The report itemises all academic achievements and additional extra and co-curricular achievements. Academic achievements appear on the report automatically and students are able to note their eligible activities by using the online platform ‘My Employability Hub’. This ensures that future employers are made aware of the additional skills the student has gained outside of the curriculum.

The Award is open to everyone and taking part in the scheme can make a major difference to your performance in the graduate job market.

Internships

Bangor University runs undergraduate and postgraduate internship schemes twice a year, which allow students to work in a professional environment while learning relevant skills and earning money.

Internships offer valuable experience in a professional workplace and there are a range of internships you can get involved in.

Student Volunteering

Not only is volunteering worthwhile – it also improves your employability and widens your experience.

The Students’ Union has a dedicated Student Volunteering Office (SVB) which currently contributes a total of 600 hours each week, promoting a close relationship between the university and the local community. Find out more on the Student Volunteering pages of the Bangor Student’s Union website.

TARGETconnect - Working while you Study

The Skills and Employability Service offers support to students searching for employment during and after their studies.

International Candidates: school leaving qualifications and college diplomas are accepted from countries worldwide (subject to minimum English Language requirements). More information here.

We also welcome applications from mature applicants.

*For a full list of accepted Level 3 qualifications, go to www.ucas.com.

**Usual Access offer is 21 Distinctions, 18 Merits and 6 Passes.

School of Psychology – General Entry Requirements

The School of Psychology operates a flexible admissions policy, taking a holistic and not entirely grade based decision on its applicants. The entry criteria detailed (UCAS Tariff points etc.) above is for guidance purposes only. These grades reflect our typical offer levels but we reserve the right to vary the offer we make based on a candidates individual circumstances. That way we can treat all our applicants with the individual attention they deserve.

Please do not hesitate to contact us by email or phone on 01248 388453 if you would like to discuss your circumstances or an offer you have received in more detail.

General University entry requirements

We accept students with a wide range of qualifications and backgrounds and consider each application individually.

All students need to have good basic skills and the University also values IT and communication skills.

As part of the University’s policy we consider applications from prospective disabled students on the same grounds as all other students.

To study a degree, diploma or certificate course you’ll be asked for a minimum of UCAS Tariff points. For a fuller explanation of the UCAS Tariff Points, please see www.ucas.com

We also consider applications from mature students who can demonstrate the motivation and commitment to study a university programme. Each year we enrol a significant number of mature students. For more help and advice about being a mature student at Bangor, please visit the Study at Bangor site.

Specific entry requirements can be seen on the individual course pages.

EU and International students' entry requirements

For information and further detailed guidance on entry requirements for EU and International Students, including the minimum English Language entry requirement, please visit the Entry Requirements by Country pages. International applicants can also visit the International Education Centre section of our website for further details.

If you attend your Graduation Ceremony, there will be a cost for gown hire (£25-£75) and cost for guest tickets (£12 each).

Course-specific additional costs
Depending on the course you are studying, there may be additional course-specific costs that you will be required to meet. These fall into three categories:

Mandatory Costs: these are related to a particular core or compulsory module that you’ll be required to complete to achieve your qualification e.g. compulsory field trips, uniforms for students on placement, DBS Check.

Necessarily Incurred Costs: these may not be experienced by all students, and will vary depending on the course e.g. professional body membership, travel to placements, specialist software, personal safety equipment.

Optional Costs: these depend on your choice of modules or activity and they are shown to give you an indication of the optional costs that may arise to make sure your choice is as informed as possible. These can include graduation events for your course, optional field trips, Welcome Week trips.

Depending on the Psychology course you are studying, you may have the following costs:

Mandatory costs:

Almost all psychology assignments are submitted electronically, including the dissertation. There are a few exceptions which require printing by students for Year 1 and Year 2 modules (these may be draft assignments used in class, or leaflets and posters which need to be printed in colour). If students print from University computers, then printing costs across Year 1 and 2 would be approximately £5.

Additional costs may also be charged as follows: Enhanced DBS check (approx. £65).

Psychology provides a set number of core textbooks in the library, but students will incur costs if they choose to purchase their own texts.

Necessarily Incurred Costs:

BSc/MSci/intercalated students will choose from a range of Year 3 modules and intercalated and final year MSci students will choose from a range of Year 4 modules. Dependent on modules chosen, students may incur costs associated with printing (e.g. posters for display at modular conferences; portfolio to document experience working in schools).

In addition, some optional modules have costs associated with practical activities (e.g. Year 3 Born To Run module will require students to pay race entry fees (approximately £30-£40), travel and accommodation to races, and the purchase of running kit if not already owned; Year 3 Disorders of Literacy module may incur travel costs).

In some cases, students may be required to travel to collect data for their BSc/MSci dissertation. Students can pay to become a member of the British Psychological Society (approximately £30), but this is not essential for the course.

Students may also choose to purchase software such as SPSS, but this is available on the Wheldon Building’s computers.

Optional Costs:

We offer a wide range of additional student experiences to provide a full programme of potential activities. Many of these activities do not incur a cost to the student, including all Welcome Week activities run by Psychology (not including personal costs of drinks, food, etc. at the events) and Psychology's graduation receptions (food and drink are included).

Some optional activities do incur a cost and these range from international trips costing £500-£1,000, to national conferences costing approximately £25 + travel/accommodation expenses. However, all of these activities are entirely optional and extra-curricular.

Notes:

The above examples are not exhaustive and depend on your choice of course and modules. There may be additional course-specific costs if you are a joint-honours student, a combined-honours student, a non-graduating student, or a minor student, as you will also take modules from other Schools.

Need help applying?

If you have any questions about entry requirements, how to apply or the course you are interested in please do not hesitate to contact Bethan Pentith on +44(0) 1248 3884534 or by emailing psychology@bangor.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

When to apply?

We advise you to apply as early as you can as we will start considering applications and making offers straight away. The initial UCAS deadline for UK and EU students is 15 January, however we welcome applications after this date. Those received between 15 January and 30 June will continue to be forwarded to universities by UCAS and will receive consideration where places are still available.

Your Personal Statement

Writing your Personal Statement is the part of the application form that requires most work. You are only allowed 47 lines or 500–550 words to explain why you wish to study the course and the skills you have that are essential for university study.

To write a successful personal statement for your UCAS application you must have a good understanding about the course and its content. Remember that you write only one personal statement for your five choices. Make sure that the courses are similar, if not the same, and make sure that you do not mention a specific course or university.

Why study at the School of Psychology?

93% of graduates in employment or further study (BSc Psychology, Unistats 2018).

17th for Research Quality – Complete University Guide 2020.

British Psychological Society fully accredited degree programmes.

One of the largest and most cosmopolitan psychology departments in UK (HESA Stats).

89% of research output either world leading or internationally excellent and 17th overall - REF 2014.

Top 200 Psychology departments in the world - QS World University Ranking.

76% graduated with a 1st or 2:1 in 2019.

Bangor Psychology was established in 1963 making it amongst the oldest in the UK.

There are a large number of specialist research labs including a 3T MRI scanner, TMS Labs, ECG facilities and a Brain anatomy laboratory.

Careers prospects are improved by the focus on transferable skills that is contained throughout the degree.

Awarded Gold in the 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework.

Excellent transport links mean Bangor is less than 90 minutes from Liverpool and Manchester by car with London accessible by train in about 3.5 hours.

Bangor is an affordable, safe, compact and friendly city on the beautiful North Wales coast next to the mountains of Snowdonia.

Studying at Bangor

Rated Gold for teaching

We have been awarded a Gold rating, the highest rating possible, for the standarad of our teaching in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment. The TEF assessment took into account teaching quality, learning environment and student outcomes and learning gain. We were judged to deliver consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for our students and our teaching is of the highest quality found in the UK.

A top 10 university

The National Student Survey (NSS) results place Bangor amongst the UK’s top 10 universities (excluding specialist institutions) for student satisfaction. This reflects the University’s focus on overall student experience.